Using a stethoscope to increase audibility of the clicks
is not out of the question when working on disk tumbler
locks, though I never use them for padlocks. A miniature
wide-audio-range electronic stethoscope with a magnetic
base for coupling a piezoelectric-type microphone is ideal
for getting to know the tumblers better.

Filing your fingertips to increase sensitivity might not
be such a good idea for beginners since their fingertips
will not be accustomed to operating dials for a long period
of time. With practice, you may develop calluses and need
to file your fingertips. But I don't recommend it at first.

After some time you may find that in some cases you
can whiz right through the combination of an unknown
lock without looking at it and pop it open in seconds.
It becomes second nature. I've done this on many occa-
sions-something beyond my conscious control seems to
line up the tumblers without my thinking about it.

Another type of disk tumbler padlock is the Sesame
lock made by the Corbin Lock Co. Its unique design
makes it more difficult to open than Master padlocks, but
it can be opened. Let's take one of the three or four wheel
mechanisms, look at a cross section, and see how it works.
The wheel has numbers from zero to nine. Attached to
the wheel is a small cam. Both the wheel and cam turn
on the shaft. Each wheel in this lock operates indepen-
dently with its own cam and shaft. The locking dog is
locked to the shackle. In this position the shackle cannot
be opened. The locking dog operates with all three or four
wheels. The locking dog is riding on the round edge of
the cam. The spring is pushing up on the cam. The lock-
ing dog cannot move up because it is resting on the round
part of the cam. When the wheel is turned to the proper
combination number, the locking dog rests on the flat of
the cam. The spring can then raise the locking dog to
release the shackle, and this opens the lock.



TIPS FOR SUCCESS


You will undoubtedly encounter a pin tumbler lock in
which there will be a pin or two that is keyed too low
(the shear line of the pin is too high). In this case the lock
is difficult to open because the breaking point of a long
bottom pin doesn't allow room in the keyway for the pick
to manipulate the other pins. Your success in opening
"tight" locks will depend on the skill you have developed
with your tension wrench. Sometimes it helps to play with
the tension wrench. Try bouncing it left and right slightly
while picking, allowing some of the tumblers to drop occa-
sionally. You may also try picking the front tumblers first
or picking at random on these locks. You can tell if you
have a lock that is keyed like this because your pick may
get jammed during the picking process.

After you have opened a cylinder and unlocked a lock,
be sure to return it to the locked position. You will hear
the tumblers click into place when this happens. Other-
wise it may be difficult to unlock it with its key because
the bottom pins cannot "float" like they normally would.

To tell whether or not the cylinder should go clockwise
or counterclockwise when picking a tumbler lock, there
is an easy rule to follow. If the tumblers (pin or wafer)
will not break, or stay broken, you are going in the wrong
direction with the tension wrench. There will be little or
no progress with the cylinder, and few, if any, "clicks."

Some keyways are cut at an angle (Yale, Dexter, and
Schlage, for example) so you want to be sure that you tilt
your pick to follow that angle while picking or your pick
will get hung up. A slight twist of the wrist will compen-
sate for this problem.

Should your fingers become tired while picking a lock,
lay down your tools and shake your hands and fingers
to relieve any tension. After some time the muscles in your
hands will become accustomed to such activity. Practice
and persistence will tone your hands and senses to the
point where you will be able to pop open a cylinder in
three to five seconds (that's seconds) in total darkness. The
combination of touch and sound lets you know almost
a split second before you open the lock that you have
succeeded.

If the lock is a well-machined one, the cylinder will feel
tight and you will need a little firmer hand on the ten-
sion wrench. While picking, if any one of the pins at any
time feels firm or difficult to move, chances are it's aligned.
If it feels springy, it is not.

Use the shaft of the pick if you have to when working
the frontal pin of a pin tumbler lock. This may save you
the trouble of aligning the tip of the pick on the front
pin where there is little or no support for the pick. All
of the other pins allow the pick to be supported by the
inside wall of the keyway.

Master keyed pin tumbler locks are generally easier to
pick open because they have more than one shear line or
breaking point in the pins. Master keying allows a group
of locks to be controlled by a master key holder while the
individual locks in that group are controlled by individual
keys. Hotels and apartment complexes are usually master
keyed.

There is a simple technique to open pin and wafer
tumbler locks. Simply drill through the shear lines of the
tumblers. This point is located just above the center of
the keyway on the face of the cylinder. By doing this,
though, you obviously ruin the lock and make a lot of
racket. If the lock is a Medeco or some other high-security -
lock, you risk damage of one hundred dollars or more,
so be sure you know the value of the situation before you
decide to rape the lock. Use a center punch to start a
reliable hole on the cylinder face and use a one-quarter
inch drill bit with a variable speed drill. With a large
screwdriver, turn it to unlock. The cylinder will be dif-
ficult to turn because you may be shearing the tumbler
springs that have fallen down past the cylinder's shear line.

Dead bolt locks are those mounted on a door above
the knob. All dead bolt locks unlock counterclockwise
with left-hand doors and clockwise with righthand doors.
If you have trouble remembering this, just remember that
the bolt of the lock has to go in the opposite direction
of the doorjam.

Dead bolt locks are just as easy to pick open as knob
locks are. They both have cylinders that can be picked
open. The main difference is that dead bolts cannot be
opened by sliding a plastic or metal card through to the
bolt so as to work it back. In other words, they are not
spring loaded. That's why they are called dead bolts. Most
knob locks now have guards in front of the bolts to deter
opening with cards.

Kwik-sets, Weisers, and some of the less-expensive knob
locks may open in either direction. Schlage and Corbin,
along with more sophisticated locks, can open only in one
direction. Auto locks will open either way. Another
method of picking pin tumbler locks is with a pick gun.
As the pick snaps up, it hits the bottom pin. This bounces
the top pin out of the cylinder and into the shell. As you
apply light turning pressure with the tension wrench, the
top pins are caught in the shell, the cylinder will turn. I've
never used a pick gun, but they do work well for lock-
smiths who use them. They are cumbersome and expen-
sive, and show some lack of professionalism.

(Note: If you don't care about professionalism and want to open 95% of all
pin tumbler locks out there - and fast- buy this device.  It is very awesome.
I even recommend it over a Cobra Electronic lockpick.  Trust me, I have both,
and I feel the $60 Lockaid pick gun blows away the $350 Cobra)


SOME PRECAUTIONS

If you bought this book to learn how to pick locks in
order to become a more efficient burglar, then there is
not a whole lot I can say or do to stop you. But I must
say this: the locks used in prisons are nearly impossible
to pick even if you get or make the right tools. They are
usually electrically controlled from an external station.

Do not carry lock picks on your person. If you get
caught with them, you could get nailed for most any pro-
fessional job in town for the last seven years. If you must
carry them, as in the case of rescue workers, etc., please
consult your local authorities about details and ask about
registering with them. As a former locksmith, I do not
have that problem.

I advise that you do not teach your friends how to pick
locks. The choice is yours, of course. You paid the price
of this book and the knowledge is yours-be selfish with
it. It is for your own protection as well. The fewer people
who know you have this skill, the better. Getting blamed
for something you didn't do is unfair and a hassle.

When you become proficient at picking locks, you may
decide to get a job as a locksmith. But believe me, there
is more to being a locksmith than being able to pick locks.
You have to be a good carpenter as well as a fair mechanic.
But you may want to approach the owner of a lock shop
and ask if you could get on as an apprentice.

NOBODY'S PERFECT

There isn't a locking device on earth that cannot be
opened with means other than its key or code. It's just
that some are easier to open than others. Anything with
a keyhole, dial, or access port is subject to being opened
with alternate means, though some of the newer electronic
and computer-controlled security devices would be a
nightmare even if you had extensive knowledge of elec-
tronics and electromagnetics. Some devices also use palm
prints as a readout to allow entry.

On the mechanical side, there are locks that have nor-
mal pin tumblers, but they are situated in various places
360 degrees around the cylinder. Some locks use pin
tumblers that not only have to be aligned vertically within
the cylinder, but also have to "twist" or turn a certain
number of degrees to allow the cylinder to open. This is
because the pins' shear line is cut at an angle. These locks
are made by Medeco.

I have witnessed only one Medeco lock being picked-
by a fellow locksmith. We both spent hours trying to pick
it again, but it was futile. We estimated the chances of
opening it again to be one out of 10,000. They are excellent
security devices, but their price keeps them limited to areas
prone to security problems such as isolated vending
machines and for government use. The only one I have
been successful at opening (after an hour of picking) was
one I drilled. By the way, they are easy to drill because
the brass that's used is soft.

LEARNING TO TOUCH AND FEEL

Most of us know how to touch. We touch objects every
day, and yet we do not truly feel them. It seems so
commonplace that we forget that we are actually feeling
while we touch.

Here is an exercise that will develop a delicate touch.
Gently rub and massage your hands and fingers-
preferably with hand lotion. Do this for five minutes. Once
the lotion has evaporated, shake your hands and fingers
so that they flop loosely. Gently pull each finger to relax
each joint.

Now with a piece of fine sandpaper, gently draw the
tips of your fingers across it. Try to feel the texture of
the grains on its surface. Relax your fingers, hands, fore-
arms, shoulders, and chest. Take your time. Do this for
several minutes.

After a few weeks of practice, you will be able to feel
each individual grain of sand on the sandpaper. This
allows you to feel the slightest sensation vibrate through
your bones.

Try to remember to practice touching and feeling dur-
ing your everyday experiences. Practice feeling wood,
metal, and various other objects. Play with the feel of
mechanical vibrations, even your television set. Try to sense
the world around you as a source of information. This
could and will open a whole new horizon of experience.

After a while, you will be able to feel or sense the move-
ment of the tumblers of a Sargeant and Greenleaf safe.
My first safe opened in three minutes because of that
technique that took me years to discover.

VISUALIZATION

If you respect the security of the lock and do not
become overconfident, you will never become disappointed
if you fail to open it. You also increase your chances of
opening the lock because you personally have nothing to
gain or lose by opening it. Give up trying to be an expert
and just pick the lock.

With such an attitude, you may find the lock will usually
pop right open. I never received a trophy for being the
best lock picker in the state. My satisfaction is in know-
ing that I am never helpless in a lockout situation. The
quality of your success is almost romantic; it involves sen-
sitivity and compassion in the face of curiosity as a means
to help others.

Visualization and imagination are important to the lock
picker. I've noticed that people who have the ability to
visualize the internal parts of the lock that they are pick-
ing seldom fail to open it in moments. Anyone can learn
to do this by simply remembering to do it while picking
a lock. Since sight, sound, and touch are involved with
the process, visualization is very easy to do. Try to keep
all of your attention on the lock during the picking pro-
cess. This will help you to learn how to use heightened
sensitivity for picking locks.

So in that respect, an unopened lock is like a new and
unexplored lover. You imagine all of the qualities of an
attractive person whom you've just met and apply that
feeling to the lock that you are picking. Use visualization.
It will help immensely.


(Note: All this Zen stuff may sound like a load of shit, but it's not.  I 
myself cannot pick a lock unless I am comfortable.  If I am craving a 
cigarette or I am hungry or something else like that, I have a difficult time
opening a lock. Also, attitude is important.  Don't show off.)



Have fun


Any question or comments
can be left to me at Ripco
(leave mail to BLOODMONEY)